How to Quest

Quest clues and maps—created by 

teachers, volunteers, and/or park 

staff—will help you discover the 

natural and cultural gems of the 

Ohio & Erie Canalway. At the end 

of each quest is a hidden treasure 

box. Sign your name in the logbook, 

stamp this page, and return the box 

to its hiding place.

The questing season runs from 

April 15 through November 15.

Notice a problem or have 

suggestions for improving this 

quest? Contact Arrye Rosser at 

440-546-5992 or arrye_rosser@nps.gov.

About This Program

I’m Arrye Rosser, interpretive and education specialist at Cuyahoga 

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dream of bringing questing to Ohio. This project was made possible 

by the generous support of a 2010 Parks as Classrooms grant from the 

National Park Service and is a partnership between many organizations.

So far, more than 100 teachers, volunteers, and park staff have been 

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create many more in the years ahead. If you would like to volunteer, 

contact me at 440-546-5992 or arrye_rosser@nps.gov.

Special thanks to Emily Bryant and Steven Glazer.

The Ohio & Erie Canalway celebrates the rails, trails, landscapes, 

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that helped Ohio and our nation grow. 

For more information and to get copies of other quests, visit 

ohioanderiecanalway.com and search under Activities for Questing.

Canalway Quest

Layers of the Ledges Quest

Enjoy a moderate hike below and above 

the Ledges, considering its layers.

STAMP HERE 

This quest was written by Gayle Chryn, a retired kindergarten 

teacher, and Marilyn Diefendorff, a park volunteer. It was 

updated in 2012.

About 3/4-way down the road, a signpost’s back you’ll see.

Take the path to your left, along the Ledges you’ll be.

At the second picnic table that sits with a grill,

Head left toward the rocks to have one last thrill.

Step carefully near the edge, another view to behold.

Look through the crevice to spot the path below.

The connection of the layers is not always seen, 

Sometimes it lies somewhere in between.

The beauty of nature and culture did mold

The layers of the Ledges for the young and the old.

Go back to the picnic table and start moseying along.

Go left on the main path—you won’t go wrong.

Hemlocks on the left, two PITCH INs to the right—

The correct path is clearly in your sight.

Stay on the main path; at the Y, right is wrong.

Keep to the left, but not for long.

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Then the OCTAGON arrow is meant for you. 

Under hemlock boughs, past Sharon honeycomb, 

The OCTAGON trail will lead you home. 

Under wood connecting ground with ground

Is where your treasure box is found. 

The box is only for those who quest—

Help keep it secret from the rest.

The stamp inside proves you played the game;

A logbook is for you to sign your name.

When you’re done, please close it tight

And replace the box out of sight.

We hope Layers of the Ledges Quest was fun.

Take a few more steps and you’ll be back to square one.

Clues Continued...

“Points of Three” at Ledges. NPS/TIM FENNER

SUMMIT COUNTY SECTION 

CUYAHOGA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

VIRGINIA KENDALL
Pebbles and sand once glued together

Have been washed away by time and weather,

Leaving a honeycomb pattern behind.

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Its rippled wave marks now showing.

Take a moment to touch and gaze

And hope for generations it stays.

Continue on the trail of sand;

A forest layer is at your right hand.

Up and down bends, then up stone steps you go.

Look up to your left—three stone columns show.

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Water springs forth; its evidence you can’t miss.

Sharon Conglomerate is a sponge-like rock.

The shale layer below it is a water block.

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This cool, damp condition is what salamanders seek.

First over the wooden bridge you scoot,

Then down stone steps you place your boot.

Take 105 steps from the stair’s base and stand

Where an upright boulder beside the path sits grand.

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Look up left to see today’s jumbled sight.

Here you see from down below

How the bluffs of the Overlook show.

On these rocks the trees hold tight,

Growing up toward the sunlight.

Lacy hemlock* and straight-growing birch*—

A beech* tree now is what you search. 

Before evergreen hemlocks on the rocky path, stop—

High on your left is the beech’s sprawling top.

*Eastern hemlock—Dark, scaly bark. Soft, lacy needles.

Yellow birch—Yellow-gray, paper-like bark. Oval, toothed leaves. 

American beech—Smooth gray bark. Short trunk and broad canopy. 

Now this layer you’re leaving, it’s higher you go.

At the signpost, ignore the right-hand path below. 

It’s 100 YARDS up the hill—at OVERLOOK stay right.

As you walk along the path, a wooden table you’ll sight.

Before you pass it, go left through a tree-cut gate

To reach the Overlook—where the view is top rate!

West where canopy and horizon meet,

It’s about 7 miles that your eyes greet.

Within the hidden layer below,

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Left at the edge, the beech is found.

You saw it below from the ground.

What a different perspective the Ledges take

When the upper-layer trek you make.

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A signpost for ICE BOX on your left will show.

It’s straight ahead that you must travel.

You’ll be walking now on a road of gravel.

(A tidbit of information for you to know:

You’re walking on top of a rock plateau.)

Planning Ahead

This treasure hunt takes about 55 minutes. The trail surface is uneven and 

sometimes rocky and/or slippery. Insect repellent and hiking shoes are 

recommended. You will need a pen or pencil to sign the logbook. Some 

people prefer using their own signature stamp and ink pad or marker.

Getting There

Start at Octagon Shelter, Truxell/Kendall Park Road, 1.5 miles west 

of Akron Cleveland Road, Peninsula, Ohio 44264. Park in the upper 

section of the parking lot and begin this quest at the kiosk.

Clues

The layers of the Ledges are many and quite old.

On this quest you’re taking, some facts will unfold.

Three paths you will follow with clues that we’ve written,

And by the end we hope that you will be smitten.

Follow two signs for OVERLOOK; 75 steps past the last, stride.

Pause to look at the massive sloping rock—picture a water slide?

The dark green layer that’s soft and furry

On trees and rocks grows in no hurry.

In cool, moist areas it thinks it’s boss—

But we all know it’s really just moss. 

The lighter green upon the rock

Is alive—it’s lichen—don’t go into shock!

Lacy hemlocks with their tree roots in search

Embrace their cool, moist, and rocky perch.

35 steps past the “slide,” look left up the rise.

A rock groove forming a child-sized 7 lies.

For a stretch ahead as you walk along,

Listen to the different birds in song.

Ahead in the path, a spade-shaped rock you see.

Look above to see the cover photo’s “Points of Three.”

The cliff rock was formed by a fast-moving stream,

Depositing quartz from the north along its seam.

Sharon Conglomerate this layer is now named—

Over 300 million years the layer has remained.